Beyond Discipline

by Alfie Kohn

Jason San
ger, Tovah
Kadel, Sha Parsons, P
wn Gabrie atricia
Alzahrani, l, Ahmed
& A m an d a
St. Pierre
Qualities of Successful
Classroom Management
The teacher is the control of
behavior
Teachers who are successful:
Do not concentrate on discipline
Prevent problems by keeping
students engaged
Discipline
Discipline is driven by
negative beliefs about
children
The objective of many
discipline programs is
to get children to
comply with adults.
How we manage our
classrooms has
everything to do with
what we believe about
people.
Hidden Premises
If the teacher isnt in control of the classroom,
the most likely result is chaos.
Children need to be told exactly what adults
expect of them, as well as what will happen if
they dont do what theyre told.
You need to give positive reinforcement to a
child who does something nice if you want him
to keep acting that way.
At the heart of moral education is the need to
help people control their impulses.
Basic Human Needs
Autonomy experiencing self-motivation,
feeling empowered, not a victim of
circumstance or environment
Relatedness the need to feel connected,
loved and affirmed.
Competence learning new things and
being able to apply them.
Questions to Drive our
Discipline Policies
What do children require in order to flourish?
How can we provide those things?
Instead of:
How can we make them do what we want
them to do?
We need to guide our students toward
developing personal and social skills, just as
we would teach them about any subject in
school.
 2. Blaming
the Kids
3. Bribes a
nd Threat
r 4. Punishm s
a p t e ent Lite:
C h Consequ
3 ,4 ences &
2, Pseudoch
oice
 BLAMING THE KIDS
0 The problem always rests with the child
who doesnt do what he is asked, never
with what he has been asked to do.
0 Is the adults request reasonable?
0 When students are off task our first
response should be to ask, Whats the
task?
0 To focus on discipline is to ignore the real
problem: We will never be able to get
students( or anyone else) to be in good
order if, day after day, we try to force them
 BRIBES AND THREATS
0 COERSION- Without regard to motive or context, past
events or future implications, the adult simply forces
the child to act (or stop acting) in a certain way.
0 PUNISHMENT- Deliberately chosen to be unpleasant,
and must be intended to change the students future
behavior.
0 REWARDS- Do this, and youll get that. Do rewards
work? Yes, for short term compliance.
0 Why do we punish?- Its quick and easy. Works to
get temporary compliance. Its familiar to us. Its
expected. Gives us control. If we dont punish,
students might think they got away with it.
 PUNISHMENT LITE:
CONSEQUENCE AND
0 PunishmentPSEUDOCHOICE
vs. Natural Consequences.
0 PSEUDOCHOICE-
1. Obey or Suffer- Do what I tell you to do or
Im going to punish you.
2. You Punished Yourself- If a student acts out
they are also choosing the natural
consequence.
3. Choose and Suffer- Students are
encouraged to make decisions so they will
suffer from their poor choice.
 SUMMARY
0 Its easier to blame the child for misbehaving or
acting out.
0 Getting short term compliance will not solve the
issue.
0 Punishment is easy to use and thats why we use
it.
0 Do we really give students a choice?
 Ho w N o t T
o
G e t C o n tr
p te r 5 ol of
Ch a the Classr
oom
 Effective...But at
What?
"Withitness" Kounin 1970:
The teacher not only was attentive to what
students were doing, but let them know she
knew what was going on.

To be effective to Kounin it meant..

 Sit Down and Shut
Up !!
0 Why does everyone think that the
teacher should be in control of the
classroom?

0 Why do we have to make students

comply?
Be Seated and Refrain from
0
Talking!
The more voice and choice students have,
the more cooperative and responsible they
will act and feel.
0 The New Disciplines are just as much about
getting compliance as is the more traditional
approach.
0 "get the trains to run on time in the
classroom, never mind whom they run over.
 The Problem with
Compliance
0 Teachers want students to be good people,
not necessarily good learners
0 Long-term goals
0 Desirable outcomes are harder to achieve if
we rely on bribes and threat.
0 "The more we 'manage' students' behavior
and try to make them do what we say, the
more difficult it is for them to become morally
sophisticated people who think for
themselves and care about others."
Making Moral Meaning
0 The constructivist model of learning challenges the
central metaphors that so often drive instruction

0 The only way to help students become ethical

people is to have them construct moral meaning

0 Maximize the opportunity for students to make

choices and to discover and learn for themselves

0 Create a caring community in the classrooms that

students have the opportunity to do these things
together
Behaviors v. People
0 The developer of one New Discipline program
has described its goal as getting students to
choose appropriate behaviors.

0 Discipline Programs can change behavior, but

they cannot help people to grow
 Beyond Rules
0 The problems with rules are that they:
Turn kids into lawyers that are just looking
for loopholes.
Turn teachers into police officers, a role
utterly at odds with being facilitators of
learning.
Often include punishments for breaking
them.
0 To avoid this:
Have the students create the rules
Think about how everyone should treat
each other
The Value of Conflict
0 Kohn says that it is more important for
students to wrestle with dilemmas, clash with
others ideas and take others needs into
account than to follow sets of rules.
0 Kohn says that conflict presents golden
opportunities for learning and therefore
should not be suppressed.
0 Even hurtful conflicts need to be resolved
rather than pushed aside.
 Conclusion
0 Many teachers are afraid that they will lose
control of the class.
0 Effective teachers use collaborative problem
solving instead of coercive control
0 Education must be reformed so that
classrooms take on the nature of communities.
0 Teachers who wish to move beyond discipline
must do three things: provide an engaging
curriculum based on student interests, develop
a sense of community and draw students into
meaningful decision-making
 A Classroo
m
6
of Their
p te r
Ch a Choosing
 Why should students have a say in making real
decisions?
How do we help students develop thinking
beyond self-discipline?

What are structural guidelines when students are

in control?
To meet needs, we need to meet: When, where, &
how do we make meetings work?

REFLECTIONS ON DECISION MAKING: WHAT TO

EXPECT IN TRANSITION
Why should students have a
say in making real decisions?

Alfie Kohn tells a tale of two teachers.

Teacher #1 made all the rules insisting
that students obey without question.
Teacher #2 stopped commanding and
started LISTENING. She found that
students learned to make good choices
by creating the options for themselves,
instead of following directions.
The construction of meaning is an
active process
Why should students have a
say in making real decisions?
Choice promotes compliance and
minimizes behavior p 81
When teachers change their questions to
begin with, How do you think we can
and How many ways can we , this
enables students to develop their
problem-solving abilities and experience
a sense of community
How do we help students develop
thinking beyond self-discipline?
Self-discipline means setting your own
intrinsic expectations and meeting them
Beyond self-discipline is when children
possess the skills and the inclination to
solve problems autonomously and
together.
Anyone who truly values democratic
ideals would presumably want to
maximize childrens experiences with
choice and negotiation. p 85
What are the structural guidelines
when students are in control?
When students are asked to invent a system that
address everyones concerns, some criteria apply.
Purpose: What is reason for a restriction?
Restrictiveness: What is the need that it meets?
Flexibility: Time schedules and tasks must have
room to adapt to immediate needs of individuals
and the group
Developmental appropriateness: When students
establish expectations for their community, they
must consider if it applies to all ages or all
individuals.
What are the structural guidelines
when students are in control?
Presentation style: When students
negotiate for change, the way they
introduce their ideas can make a
difference on the response of others.
Student Involvement: The input in
community building conversations,
interactions and tasks directly relates to
their sense of control.
To Meet Needs, We Need to Meet: When,
Where & How do we make Meetings
Work?
Take time CONSISTENTLY for meetings
to make academic time more efficient.
Clarify the purpose of meetings: to meet
needs and reflect on what is working
and what is not working that needs
changing
Plan together any decision that
influences the group, which may involve
voting.
Share successes that contribute to
community.
Reflections on Decision Making:
What to Expect in Transition
Children who have been tightly controlled
may need time to rebuild trust in
themselves and you.
They may exhibit disturbing, destructive,
or damaging behavior or refuse to
participate.
They may parrot what they think you
want or silently nod approval without
contributing.
They need to test the depth of freedom
and how the response will be to their
 Reflections on Decision
Making: What to Expect in
Trust is built on Transition
several basic habits:
0 LISTEN to students needs and their ideas
how to meet them with affirmative responses.
0 Be CONSISTENT in giving students the option
to create their own solutions to problems.
0 Provide resources and support for their ideas.
0 Show appreciation for student models that
build student leadership and community.
 It is not management techniques
that make the difference, but rather
a way of thinking on the part of
the teacher.

The perspective is that we are the

caretakers of the learning
environment that nourishes
students natural curiosity, helping
them develop their problem-solving
abilities and experience a positive
 The Class
room
as Commu
te r 7 n ity
Ch ap
 What is community?
A place where students feel:
0 Valued
0 Respected
0 cared for
0 Encouraged
0 Safe (physically and emotionally)
0 They matter to everyone

There is a sense of unity and pride for all involved in

the community.
 Why community?
The Child Development Project found:
0 Promotes social, moral and intellectual
development
0 Stronger community feeling = more students report
liking school and learning
0 Positive effects are greatest in students with a low
socioeconomic status

Overall-if you want kids to do well in school, you have

to help them develop an environment that helps
them feel good about school and their classmates.
 Community
misconceptions
0 Students lose their identity and conform
0 Building a community is simply about being nice
0 Students will become compliant
0 The teacher alone creates community for the
students
 Community Building
Prerequisites
0 Time
0 It takes time for the students to get to know one
another in a community context
0 Group Size
0 The classroom is a good size, too large and you may
need sub-communities
0 Teacher
0 Needs to be a part of the adult community at the
school
 Community Building
Strategies
0 Relationships with adults
0 Important that students see the teacher as a human
0 Show them that you genuinely care
0 Be vulnerable
0 Admit when you are wrong
0 Remember details about their lives
0 Authentic responses to their questions
0 Model positive interactions for them
 Community Building
Strategies
0 Connections between students
0 Use activities to get them connected
0 Interviews and introductions
0 Give them the opportunity to share their thoughts and
feelings
0 Give them the opportunity to view things from the
perspective of others

These kinds of activities help them feel more

connected to others and to feel more
understood in the community.
 Community Building
Strategies
0 Classwide and schoolwide activities
0 Whole group collaboration activities
0 Class mural, collage, quilt
0 Class meetings to practice community together
0 Sub-communities if necessary
 Community Building
Strategies
0 Using academic instruction
0 Relate community to what is going on in the
classroom: homework, projects, reports, etc.
0 Build discussion time into your instruction as an
opportunity to practice community
0 Cooperative learning so students can learn and grow
from one another
0 Tie curriculum back to the classroom community
 Final Thoughts On
Community
0 Powerful classroom community can help students
make more positive associations about school.
0 Community helps us move beyond discipline and
nurture students more effectively.
0 You must involve students in building the
community-it is not effective if you impose it on
them.
 Solving
te r 8 Problems
Ch ap
Together
 #1 Build & Maintain Positive
Relationships
0 It's important for students to trust their teacher, to
know he/she respects them and to feel safe in
speaking their minds with him/her.

0 Nowhere is such a relationship more vital than in

the case of a student who has done something
wrong and feels angry or defensive.

0 Students must feel accepted by adults.

 #2 Skill Set
0 Teachers may need to help their students learn to
listen carefully, calm themselves, generate
suggestions, imagine someone else's point of
view, and so on.

0 Children should have the chance to work on these

skills from the time they are very young. Like us,
they need guidance and practice to get better.
 #3 - Diagnosis
0 The teachers role in dealing with an unpleasant
situation begins with the need to diagnose what
has happened and why.

0 Teachers sometimes need to play detective and

try to figure out what is going on, or how to
interpret what the child is telling them.

0 Punishments and rewards are unproductive in part

because they ignore the underlying reasons for a
given behavior.
 #4 Question Practices
0 Must be willing to look beyond the concrete
situation in front of us.
0 Is the student really the problem?
0 Does my teaching engage them?
#5 Maximize Student Involvement

0 Expand the role students have in making decisions

about the classroom environment.
0 Talk less, ask more.
0 Involve students in figuring out what to do when
something goes wrong, and give them
responsibility for implementing a solution.
 #6 Construct an Authentic
Solution
0 Asking students to come up with solutions will not
get us very far if they feel obliged to cough up
explanations, suggestions, or apologies on
demand.

0 The questions teachers ask them must be open-

ended, with students encouraged to explore
possibilities and reflect on their own motives.
 #7 Assist Students In Making
Restitutions
0 A reasonable follow-up to a destructive action may
be to try to restore, replace, repair, clean up, or
apologize, as the situation may dictate.
 #8 Re-Evaluate Plans
0 Determine if a plan worked, whether the problem
got solved, whether additional or entirely new
strategies may now be needed.
 #9 - Flexibility
0 Doing to (punitive) responses can be scripted,
but "working with" responses often have to be
improvised.

0 Example: Difficulty getting a student to talk

openly about what is bothering him/her and it will
make more sense to drop him/her a note and
invite a written response.
 #10 Minimize Punitive
Impacts
0 Example: If a problem behavior is persistent and
the teacher asks the student to leave the
classroom, the teacher's tone should be warm and
regretful, and he/she should express confidence
that the two of them can eventually solve the
problem together.

0 Control is a last-resort strategy to be used

reluctantly and rarely.
 From a High School Teacher:

0 If I just kick kids out of class, I "don't tolerate"

their actions, but neither do I educate them or
their classmates. And it works about as well as
stamping out a few ants. I prepare them for
repressive solutions where misbehavior is
temporarily contained by an outside authority, not
really addressed. Sometimes I am forced to that
position, but I try not to be.